You’ve had a functioning B2B or local retail promotional website for years and suddenly a lightbulb goes off. “Why aren’t I selling these products as well as taking payments online?”
What if you see your competitors offering eCommerce options for the same kinds of products & services that you provide?
It might finally be time to let your website turn literally into a revenue producing machine as so many great websites are today. This does not require a radical shift or business transformation. It’s simply a different and easier way of conducting transactions and collecting money.
From Information to Remuneration
Plenty of high performing eCommerce sites are really hybrids that combine marketing & public relations, lead generation and direct eCommerce sales. Some of those sites were originally information or lead generation based websites which now have seamless eCommerce experiences built into them. You can do the same thing any time you want.
The “when” to monetize your website depends on whether your team is willing to go through a modest learning curve of getting on a new dashboard or two and managing inventories & data much the same as they do now using an ERP system or other database. And you can easily integrate your eCommerce workflows into existing ERP systems, automating the process. Plus, money is deposited right into your account with no collection time or effort.
Happier Customers
Fulfilling eCommerce orders may even be easier as there is less customer interaction, especially upfront. Most eCommerce shoppers know what they want by the time they’re checking out and paying the bill.
The “how” to monetize your website is best left to experienced marketing experts and eCommerce website developers. As a director of those services, of course I would say that, and with full confidence knowing you don’t want to “try this at home.” Every successful business owner knows to consult and work with specialists because they are specialists themselves and understand the common mistakes made in the DIY world. However, we can certainly give pointers.
A Few Tips for Monetizing Your Website
- Have your website on an open source platform like WordPress or choose an eCommerce platform like Shopify, Magento, etc…
- Choose an eCommerce plugin if needed such as Woocommerce.
- Choose a payment processor like Stripe, Square, etc.
- Plan logistics for fulfilling online orders, including carriers and shipping cost calculations.
- Design and build your store using intuitive navigation and calls to action.
- Include a marketing campaign to drive traffic directly to your eCommerce landing pages.
- Enjoy the business growth!
As you can see, it’s all pretty simple and straightforward! The only warning I feel the need to offer is to understand that you are committing your brand as an eCommerce offering and it’s important to honor that commitment by following through on quality deliveries. Confident of that, it might be good to jump in!
May your website make money for you all the days of your business life…
